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March 29th, 2010

Team Marine Bustologists

Caitlyn Taylor and Mason Wonka, Detective Science Winners

How did you come up with your entry?
We learned how coral reefs are dying. There are reefs near where we live. We wondered if you could find out who has been dumping sand and dredging that could be smothering the reefs. It’s detective science.

Our Award-winning idea: Coral reefs are being killed by the sand and silt from dredging operations. The mystery is “who is killing the coral reefs in Florida?” To catch the culprits we will take the samples of sediment that has been dumped on/around the coral. Also, take samples of past dredging areas and compare/match them. Using the samples of sediment we will trace the area it came from, and research and find out what dredging companies were used in that specific place. Using that information we will go from there.
We have found out that killing coral is illegal. We would like to catch whatever company is dumping wastes/sediment, from dredging, on coral instead of going farther out where they are supposed to go. I hope they know that killing 1 coral is killing over 39 organisms that live in and around it.

(Caitlyn and Mason will visit Syracuse University in New York and Pali Adventure Camp)